Apple’s iTunes to Offer Viacom Movie Titles

More Apple news: The iTunes movie service is set to bulk up with the addition of catalog movie titles owned by Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, The Wall Street Journal’s Merissa Marr reports.

In a deal that Apple’s Steve Jobs could announce as early as today at the Macworld conference, Apple plans to start selling Paramount titles on its iTunes service, according to people familiar with the situation. For the moment, the deal will only cover Paramount’s back catalog. The Hollywood studio has stopped short of also providing its new releases in an effort to allay concerns of DVD retailers about competition from iTunes.

The deal is an important step for Viacom, which has been criticized for its lack of digital vision.